Saturday, June 07, 2014

As a convert, Nauvoo the city Joseph Smith founded and named
in 1839, has always held a special place in my mind and heart. I have been
fascinated and inspired by Nauvoo -- the name, its Hebrew meaning, even its
sound, its history, and more importantly, the doctrine revealed there -- the
ultimate in Mormon theology. The ennobling doctrine that we can be sealed to
our loved ones in the Temple as part of God’s whole family in heaven. ##1

Sacred Experience
(Nauvoo Temple)

We were fortunate to be able to serve as patrons in the
Nauvoo Temple the very first week it opened in 2002. I had several Vanatter
family names with me so we could do all aspects of temple ordinances, from
baptisms for the dead, confirmations, and ordinations, to initiatory,
endowment, and sealings -- sealings of spouses, and sealing of children to parents.
Actually, it was my mother and one of my sisters – who are not members of the
church – who did the careful and loving genealogical research and shared their
extensive labor of love with us so we could perform the temple ordinances. My
wife had introduced them to genealogical research over 30 years ago, and they
have really taken to this great labor and have done extensive work.

So for two days in the Nauvoo Temple my wife and I performed
ordinances for several of my ancestors, including my very first ancestors to
arrive in upstate New York from Holland in the 1650s. . . .

Near the end of the day, we sealed my father’s father to my
father’s grandparents. NOTE: My father’s father died when by dad was just a boy
of six. More on this in a minute. . . .

As we were sealing sons to their parents, I was acting on
behalf of the various sons in all these generations. ##2 After several sealing
ordinances were performed . . . I lifted my hand, paused and said to the
sealer, “That was my dad’s dad. He died when my dad was six.” The sealer looked
right at me, then slowly and calmly said, “He’s here, right now.” He paused,
and then repeated, more slowly, “He’s here. Right now.” Needless to say, this
was a sacred experience.

Sacred Experience
(Kitchen Table)

Four months later our youngest daughter returned from her
mission . . . . The whole family gathered for her homecoming talk. My parents
and sisters, none of them are members of the Church, traveled to Virginia for this
mini family reunion -- as did our oldest daughter and her husband.

After sacrament meeting I gathered them all around our
kitchen table and shared with them my testimony. My father sat immediately to
my left, my mother across the table from me next to my wife.

I began by sharing with them my witness that it was my
sincere belief that our loved ones – our ancestors and our friends -- really
are there on the other side of the veil, in what we call the Spirit World. That
it is my personal opinion -- and firm belief -- that there is not one person we
know that ultimately will not want to be together forever, after the option is
presented to them in the spirit world -- no matter how hard their family circumstances
here on the earth. Further, that we will all clearly see there that it is Jesus
that offers this opportunity to everyone to be together forever. I shared with
them that I sincerely believe that we will all meet each other there, and we will
all want to be together -- forever. “Every one around this table,” I said. I
shared with them my confidence that one day we will all be reunited as an
extended family with our loved ones and ancestors in Heaven. That Heaven
wouldn’t be Heaven if it were otherwise. Not to us. Not even to God. I bore to
them my testimony that God was a loving God of mercy and not one of vengeance.

I told my Dad that I was confident that he would see and
know and enjoy the close association with his Dad once again—someday in Heaven.
##3

I then related the sacred experience my wife and I had in
the Nauvoo Temple where we sealed together forever my Dad’s father to my Dad’s
grandparents. I looked at my father and shared with him that the sealer looked
right at me and said, “He’s here, right now. He’s here. Right now.”

Things got very quiet. All of the sudden Dad quickly and forcibly
reached over with his right hand and grabbed hold of my left forearm which was
resting on the table. He held it very tight – in love and affection. For a few more
moments no words were spoken. I felt his love and saw his eyes well up with
tears. (Tears, on his part, had previously been very, VERY rare.) He then rose
from the table, excused himself, and went straight into the bathroom to have a
good cry in private. Around the table it was silent and still. No one spoke. My
angel Mother appropriately broke the silence reminding us how much my Dad loved
and missed his Dad. My sister said, “Well, that makes it all worth it.” (Meaning,
the genealogy work.) Almost simultaneously, my Mom echoed her words.

It was a moment we will not soon forget, a sacred experience
for our family. ##4

Dad’s Temple Work

A few years later my dad died. After we returned home from his
funeral, my dear Mother (again, not a member of the church) called and asked
whether and when we were going to do Dad’s temple work. With her permission --
and urging -- I performed by proxy his temple ordinances, including sealing him
to his own parents here in the DC Temple. ##5

Theme

The theme of my talk today is Family History and Temple
Work, with a special focus on the important part the Youth of today will play
-- and the blessings which flow to them. So, to the youth of the ward please
listen for the next few minutes how far-reaching are these great and glorious
promises associated with temple work, or in other words, Temple Worship.

#A2. PARTNERSHIP

Ancient prophets spoke of the highest promises of God being
planted in our hearts. These promises apply to you, your ancestors, and your
posterity. Later, I will remind you of specific promises of protection made
especially to you by modern apostles. ##6

An Agreement with
the Almighty

Elder John A. Widtsoe explained that before we came to earth
we were participants in the Council in Heaven. Quote. “In our [pre-mortal] state, in the day of the great council,
we made an . . . agreement with the Almighty. The Lord proposed a plan. . . .
We accepted it. Since the plan is intended for all [people], we became parties
to the salvation of every person under that plan. We agreed, right then and
there, to [help save] the whole human family. We went into a partnership with
the Lord. The working out of the plan became then not merely the Father’s work,
and the Savior’s work, but also our work. The least of us, the humblest, is in
partnership with the Almighty in achieving the purpose of the eternal plan of
salvation. That places us in a very responsible attitude towards the human
race. By that doctrine, with the Lord at the head, we become saviors on Mount
Zion, all committed to the great plan of offering salvation to the untold
numbers of spirits. To do this is the Lord’s self-imposed duty, this great labor,
his highest glory. Likewise, it is man’s duty, self-imposed, his pleasure and
joy, his labor, and ultimately his glory.” End quote. (“The Worth of Souls,”
The Utah Genealogical and Historical Magazine, Oct. 1934, p. 189) – Elder David
B. Haight, Ensign, November 1990, p. 59) ##7

The Whole Human
Race

Joseph Smith said that, “A [person] filled with the love of
God, is not content with blessing [their] family alone, but ranges through the
whole world, anxious to bless the whole human race.” #B1. PROMISES

Among the very first things Moroni taught Joseph Smith
included the foundational truths having to do with the everlasting promises
made to the fathers. Moroni told Joseph that God would “reveal . . . the
Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet . . . . And [that God] shall
plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the
hearts of the children [would] turn to their fathers.” (D&C 2)

Welding Link

Commenting on this almost twenty years later Joseph said: “It is sufficiently plain . . . to know . . . that . . .
there is a welding link . . . between the fathers and the children . . . . And
. . . what is that [link]? It is . . . baptism for the dead. For we without
them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect . . .
. It is necessary . . . that a whole and complete and perfect union, and
welding together of . . . keys, and powers, and glories should take place . . .
. (DC 128:18) “And now, my dearly beloved brethren and sisters, let me
assure you that these are principles in relation to the dead and the living
that cannot be lightly passed over, as pertaining to our salvation. For their
salvation is necessary and essential to our salvation, as Paul says concerning
the fathers—that they without us cannot be made perfect—neither can we without
our dead be made perfect.” End quote. (DC 128:15)

Together

Joseph Smith summarized: “The greatest responsibility in this world that God has laid
upon us is to seek after our dead. The apostle says, ‘They without us cannot be
made perfect’ . . . It is necessary that those who are going before and those
who come after us should have salvation in common with us; and thus hath God
made it obligatory upon man. ”

Before they even arrived in the Great Basin, Brigham Young instructed
the saints on the purpose of temple ordinances. He said: “The Apostle Paul, while speaking of the Fathers & the
Ancients, said that they without us could not be made perfect. . . . [and]
Joseph said [it is] an item of the celestial law [that they are] not perfect
without us. [Not] until our children rise up in the last days and attend to all
the ordinances [of the temple]…. [None] of us can get any glory alone. We must
finish our work together, and so with the whole human family. . . . ##8 The
Chain of [the] Priesthood [has been] restored. . . . Suffice it to say that
[we] must be linked [in] …the Chain of the Priesthood . . . [and we will] as
soon I can get a temple built. I have heard Elders say they were not dependent
upon any man. . . . [But,] I consider that we are all dependant one upon
another for our exaltation and that our interest is inseparably connected. . .
. If men are not saved together, they cannot be saved at all. . . . The
business of this Church [is] to [bring the] blessings of the Priesthood to all
that have lived . . . ##9 Neither can you without me, nor I without you be made
perfect. . . . This applies to the whole Human family.” End quote. (Brigham
Young, Mormon History, Tuesday, Feb 16, 1847)

A Day Contemplated
by Prophets

Joseph Smith challenged: “Let every man, woman and child realize the importance of
the work, and act as if success depended on [their] individual exertion alone; let
all feel an interest in it, and then consider they live in a day, the
contemplation of which animated the bosoms of kings, Prophets, and righteous
men thousands of years ago.” End quote. (History of the Church, 4:214.)

Tentacles of
Divine Providence

Dear youth, please listen to how far reaching are these promises.
President Hinckley cited the following quote several times during his
presidency, and in a seminal address, his counselor President Faust explained
the following blessing in detail in general conference. Quote. “The Prophet Joseph Smith declared—and he never taught a
more comforting doctrine—that the eternal sealings of faithful parents and the
divine promises made to them . . . would save not only themselves, but likewise
their posterity. Though some of the sheep may wander, the eye of the Shepherd
is upon them, and sooner or later they will feel the tentacles of Divine
Providence reaching out after them and drawing them back to the fold. Either in
this life or the life to come, they will return. They will have to pay their
debt to justice; they will suffer for their sins; and may tread a thorny path;
but if it leads them at last, like the penitent Prodigal, to a loving and
forgiving father’s [and mother’s] heart and home, the painful experience will
not have been in vain.” End quote. (Orson F. Whitney, in Conference Report,
Apr. 1929, 110)

None of us will be satisfied if someone we love is not with
us. The hope of Eternal Life which we receive at our baptism, becomes the
promise of Eternal Life in our temples.

When? A Million
Years

President Kimball observed that, quote: “The time will come when there will be a surrender of every
person who has ever lived on this earth, who is now living, or who ever will
live on this earth; and it will be an unforced surrender, an unconditional
surrender. When will it be for you? Today? In twenty years? Two hundred years?
Two thousand, or a million? When? Again, to you... I say, it is not if you will
capitulate to the great truth; it is when, for I know that you cannot
indefinitely resist the power and pressure of truth. Why not now? Much time has
been lost.” End quote. (President Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Sept. 1978, p. 8)

This applies to all of us, all of our friends and neighbors,
all of our ancestors, all of our posterity -- even and especially those who
stray. ##10

Vast Realities

Elder John A. Widtsoe beautifully described how temple
ordinances are infused with symbolism. He said: “Mighty spiritual ordinances are carried on daily in [our]
magnificent Temple[s]. [These ordinances are] a series of symbols of vast
realities . . . . It is the meaning of things that counts in life. We live in a
world of symbols. We know nothing except by symbols. . . . [When we are]
endowed as [we] should be [we will see] beyond the symbol, the mighty realities
for which the symbols stand.” End quote. (Elder John A. Widtsoe, Utah
Genealogical Magazine, 12:62)

President Faust cited Joseph Smith’s King Follett discourse.
“If men do not comprehend the character of God, they do not comprehend
themselves.” ##11

#C. CHALLENGE

Genius

An emeritus Yale professor, and perhaps America’s preeminent
literary scholar, Harold Bloom, has become an admirer of the doctrine of the Prophet
Joseph Smith. Bloom who characterizes himself as a lapsed, Gnostic Jew, said
that Joseph Smith was a “religion making genius.” It was his opinion that Joseph
Smith created The American Religion. ##12

Of the many unique/former Christian doctrines restored
through Joseph Smith, Bloom cites the doctrine of Baptism for the Dead as,
perhaps, the most important – more than the Book of Mormon, more than the First
Vision, as seminal as they are. He suggests that baptism for the dead
succinctly captures the essence of the expansive and generous Plan of Salvation
as understood in Mormon chapels, in Mormon Temples, and in the hearts of endless
generations of Mormons. Bloom is describing the effects of the Spirit of
Elijah.

In our temples is a marvelous power connecting the
generations – making as one all of God’s children past, present, and future. Truly
teaching the eternal implication of what President Hugh B. Brown spoke of as,
The Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of Man.

Provision

Joseph Smith stated that even those without knowledge of -- or
obedience to -- the Bible would be enfolded in the arms of mercy. Quote: “God
hath made a provision that every spirit can be ferreted out in [the spirit]
world.” End quote. Joseph’s was a generous vision.

Continued Duration
for Completion

Joseph commented on the Vision of the degrees of glory in
the heavens, thusly: “Nothing could be more pleasing to the Saints . . . than the
light which burst upon the world through the foregoing vision. . . . . Every promise,
every truth, and every point touching the destiny of man . . . go[es] to show
the [the truth of the revelation] . . . . The sublimity of the ideas; . . . the
scope for action; the continued duration for completion . . . are so much beyond
the narrow-mindedness of men, that every [honest] man is constrained to
exclaim: ‘It came from God.’” (Joseph Smith, Feb., 1832. DHC 1:252-253.)#D. YOUR ROLE

In our last general conference, Elder Cook discussed the importance
of the role our youth will play. He said: “The First Presidency has encouraged
members, especially youth and young single adults, to emphasize family history
work and [temple] ordinances . . . . We need to be connected to both our roots
and branches. . . . ##13

Rising Generation
to Lead the Way

“The leadership of the Church has issued a clarion call to
the rising generation to lead the way in the use of technology to experience
the spirit of Elijah, to search out their ancestors, and to perform temple
ordinances for them. Much of the heavy lifting in hastening the work of
salvation for both the living and the dead will be done by you young people.
##14 Of course, the main objective is to determine what ordinances still need
to be done and make assignments for the essential temple [ordinances]. . . .” This
temple worship by our youth “will bless their entire family to experience the
spirit of Elijah. Our precious roots and branches must be nourished. . . . End
quote. (Elder Quentin L. Cook, April 2014 Conference, Roots and Branches)

Roots and
Branches, Remembered

As Jacob said, “How merciful is our God unto us, for he
remembereth the house of Israel, both roots and branches; and he stretches
forth his hands unto them all the day long; and . . . as many as will not
harden their hearts shall be saved in the kingdom of God.” (Jacob 6:4)

#E. PROMISE OF
PROTECTION, PRESERVATION

In reviewing this theme with your bishop over the past few
weeks, he desires that you young women and young men receive the specific
blessings of protection promised by modern apostles and prophets. As you participate
in this work he is confident you will “gain a deeper understanding of the
commandment and doctrine of ‘honoring our fathers and mothers’ – ‘and that
you’] will see doing family history and temple work in a whole new light.”

No Greater
Protection

Elder Scott has spoken of the blessing of protection for our
youth as they become involved in this work. He said: “Do you young people want a sure way to eliminate the
influence of the adversary in your life? Immerse yourself in searching for your
ancestors, prepare their names for the sacred vicarious ordinances available in
the temple, and then go to the temple to stand as proxy for them to receive the
ordinances of baptism and the gift of the Holy Ghost. ##15 I can think of no
greater protection from the influence of the adversary in your life.” (Elder
Richard G. Scott, October 2012)

Question: How and why does this work? It works through the efficacy
of Lord’s marvelous promises and power, in partnership with your inherent and
refined ‘desires, appetites and passions.’

Conversion Deep
and Abiding, and Protected

Elder Bednar has also promised specific blessings, including
that of protection, for our youth. Quote. ##16 “I invite the young people of the Church to learn about and
experience the Spirit of Elijah. . . . And I urge you to help other people
identify their family histories. . . . You are sons and daughters of God,
children of the covenant, and builders of the kingdom. You need not wait until
you reach an arbitrary age to . . . assist in the work of salvation for the
human family. . . . ^ As you respond in faith to this invitation, your hearts
shall turn to the fathers. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will
be implanted in your hearts. Your patriarchal blessing . . . will link you to
these fathers and be more meaningful to you. Your love and gratitude for your
ancestors will increase. Your testimony of and conversion to the Savior will
become deep and abiding. And I promise you will be protected against the
intensifying influence of the adversary. As you participate in and love this
holy work, you will be safeguarded in your youth and throughout your lives. Parents
and leaders, please help your children and youth to learn about and experience
the Spirit of Elijah. But do not overly program this endeavor or provide too
much detailed information or training. Invite young people to explore, to
experiment, and to learn for themselves. . . .” ##17

In our last stake conference President Wheatley, commented
on these promises, “Brothers and Sisters, if we would claim these promises of
protection for our youth, let us obey the law upon which they are predicated. If
we do, the promises are sure and are ours.”

President Boyd K. Packer has given wise counsel on improving
behavior. He said, “True doctrine understood changes attitudes and behavior.
The study of the doctrines of the Gospel will improve behavior quicker than a
study of behavior will improve behavior . . . .” (Boyd K. Packer, “Little
Children,” Ensign, Nov. 1986, 17).

In Nauvoo, Joseph Smith was asked by a visitor to from the
Illinois state government how he governs so many people so well. Joseph
replied, “It’s easy.” The visitor asked, “How?” Joseph stated: “I teach them
correct principles and they govern themselves.”

#F. PRISONERS FREE

At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus came out of the
desert and entered into a synagogue. He opened the scriptures and read the following
words from Isaiah. One might say that they form something of a mission
statement for our Savior’s ministry.

Opening the Prison

Quoting Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me;
because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath
sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and
the opening of the prison to them that are bound . . . . ” End quote.

Glad Tidings for
the Dead

Last month Elder Cook cited the following soaring words from
Joseph Smith’s beautiful letter to the Saints introducing the doctrine of baptism
for the dead – which is also cited in D&C 128. “Now, what do we hear in the Gospel which we have received? A
voice of gladness! A voice of mercy from heaven; And a voice of truth out of
the earth. Glad tidings for the dead; A voice of gladness for the living and
the dead; Glad tidings of great joy. Let your hearts rejoice, and be
exceedingly glad. . . . Let the dead speak forth anthems of eternal praise to
the King Immanuel, who hath ordained, before the world was, that which would
enable us to redeem them out of their prison; for the prisoners shall go free.
. . . And again I say, how glorious is the voice we hear from heaven,
proclaiming in our ears, glory, and salvation, and honor, and immortality, and
eternal life; kingdoms, principalities, and powers!” (D&C 128)

As Soon As

I bear my witness that there is now no spirit prison in the
eternities -- or of one’s own making here on earth -- that can or will forever hold
bound those who Jesus has already set free. They can walk out of the door
anytime they want -- as soon as they will.

And I bear my witness that we have now the wherewithal and
opportunity and obligation and vision and love to help secure their freedom -- as
soon as we will.

In so doing, I testify that we -- and especially our youth
-- can and will receive the promised blessings of connection with our
ancestors, and protection from the adversary.

I pray we do so joyously and profitably sooner rather than
later . . . in the powerful and merciful Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

# # #

OUTLINE

#A1. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

#A2. PARTNERSHIP

#B1. PROMISES

#B2. PROMISES BECOME REAL

#C. CHALLENGE

#D. YOUR ROLE

#E. PROMISE OF PROTECTION, PRESERVATION

#F. PRISONERS FREE

# # #

FOOTNOTES

##1. SIDE NOTE: A large framed piece of art – an image of an
old daguerreotype of the Nauvoo Temple -- hangs prominently near our front
door. Before we moved to Virginia, the California license plate on my car was
Nauvoo.

My wife Becky’s early Mormon ancestors lived in Kirtland,
Far West, and Nauvoo. They trekked across the plains as pioneers. Some of them
received their endowment and were sealed in the original Nauvoo Temple. I have
felt adopted into Mormon history and her family lore as I have read and
pondered her ancestors’ experiences. . . .

##2 We had invited a couple from Kansas (near where I was
born) to help us by acting as proxy for the various sets of parents.

##3 (Remember, my dad’s dad died when my dad was six.)

##4 Reflection -- Years later our oldest daughter remarked,
quote, “This was so significant to me, feeling the Spirit of Elijah in that
room, and knowing my Grandma and Aunt have caught the Spirit of Elijah and
accepted that day the beautiful happenings in the Temple with their family
members. While they have not yet joined the church, I know that someday, all
the pieces that they have felt and heard and seen over the years will all fit
together and it will all instantly click for them.” End quote.

##5 To make that day even more special, my mission president
in Australia in 1973-75 was then serving as the DC temple president. He
performed the sealing -- two important men in my life brought together in
different aspects of one sweet and eternal sealing ordinance.

##6 So, please open your minds and hearts as we consider
what great things God has in store for us, and especially for you.

##7 A Sense of Relationship and Co-partnership -- President
Hugh B. Brown also spoke on this idea of partnership. He said, “A sense of
relationship and co-partnership with God involves the concept of universal
brotherhood.” He said, “that [this sense] will help to develop intelligent
tolerance, open-mindedness, and good-natured optimism.

##8 ‘Neither is man without the woman, neither the woman
without the man, in the Lord.’

##9 This is another strong proof of the Apostle’s saying
when he declared that, they without us could not be made perfect. [Neither we
without them.]

##10 Jesus used the following words to set up the Parable of
the Prodigal Son. We were all in the pre-mortal world, looking down on the
happenings here on earth. Imagine being with your loved ones and friends when
you heard Jesus say these words: “4 [Who among] you, having an hundred sheep,
if [you] lose one of them, do [you] not leave the ninety and nine in the
wilderness, and go after [the one] which is lost, until [you] find it? 5 And
when [you] [find] it, [you] lay… it on [your] shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when
[you] come… home, [you] call… together [your] friends and neighbours, saying
unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7 I say
unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one . . . that repents…,
more than over ninety and nine [who] need no repentance. “

One Vast and Grand Work -- President Kimball also said, “The
more clearly we see eternity, the more obvious it becomes that the Lord’s work
. . . is one vast and grand work with striking similarities on each side of the
veil.” End quote. (Spencer W. Kimball, Ensign, Jan. 1977, p. 3) ]]

Brigham Young also taught that: “The whole subject of the
marriage relation . . . lays the foundation for worlds, for angels, and for the
Gods; for intelligent beings to be crowned with glory, immortality, and eternal
lives. In fact, it is the thread which runs from the beginning to the end of
the Holy Gospel of Salvation -- of the Gospel of the Son of God; it is from
eternity to eternity. When the vision of the mind is opened, you can see a
great portion of it . . . . [which] we can see and understand . . . .” (JD
2:90)

##11 PROMISES BECOME REAL -- Question: How can these “vast
realities” be apprehended?

Only by Experience, Gaze Five Minutes -- Joseph Smith
cautioned that, simply, “Reading the experience of others, or the revelation
given to them, can never give us a comprehensive view of our condition and true
relation to God. Knowledge of these things can only be obtained by experience
through the ordinances of God set forth for that purpose. Could you gaze into
heaven five minutes, you would know more than you would by reading all that
ever was written on the subject.” End quote. (TPJS, p. 324; cf. HC 6:50)

Must Experience -- Brigham Young explained regarding the
meaning of “the ordinances of the House of the Lord in their fullness” that,
“to know, [one] must experience; and to experience, a Temple must be built.”
(Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol.2, Pg.31, April 6, 1853)

You are to be Instruments -- Joseph Smith encouraged those
who were embarking in this work – and this applies especially to our youth who
are growing into powerful leaders. Quote. “Do not be discouraged on account of
the greatness of the work; only be humble and faithful . . . Therefore, inasmuch
as you are to be instrumental in this great work, He will endow you with power,
wisdom, might, and intelligence, and every qualification necessary; while your
minds will expand wider and wider, until you can circumscribe the earth and the
heavens, reach forth into eternity, and contemplate the mighty acts of Jehovah
in all their variety and glory.” End quote. (History of the Church, 4:128–29.)

In our last General Conference, Elder Quentin L. Cook said,
“Our Father’s plan is about families. . . . The spirit of Elijah . . . as Elder
Russell M. Nelson has taught, is ‘a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing
witness of the divine nature of the family.’ . . .

“On October 11, 1840,
in Nauvoo, Vilate Kimball wrote a letter to her husband, Elder Heber C.
Kimball, who with other members of the Twelve was serving a mission in Great
Britain. The October general conference had been held a few days before. I
quote from parts of Vilate’s personal letter: ‘We had the largest and most
interesting conference that ever has been since the Church was organized. . . .
President [Joseph] Smith has opened a new and glorious subject. . . . That is,
being baptized for the dead. Paul speaks of it, in First Corinthians 15 . . . .
Joseph has received a more full explanation of it by revelation. He says it is
the privilege of [members of] this Church to be baptized for all their kinsfolk
that have died before . . . . By so doing, we act as agents for them, and give
them the privilege of coming forth in the First Resurrection. He says they will
have the gospel preached to them in prison.’ Vilate added: ‘I want to be
baptized for my mother. … Is not this a glorious doctrine?’” End quote. Indeed.

Vilate Kimball was right to exclaim that first month, “Is
not this a glorious doctrine!”

##12 That what he taught was on par with that of Emerson,
and other great American poets and thinkers.

##13 “Less than a year after President Thomas S. Monson was
called as an Apostle, he dedicated the Los Angeles Temple Genealogical Library.
. . .” [ NOTE: It was in this same Genealogical Library that my wife would go
to do family history research once a month as I served as a veil worker in the
L.A. Temple.

##14 “If the youth in each ward will not only go to the
temple and do baptisms for their dead but also work with their families and
other ward members to provide the family names for the ordinance work they
perform, both they and the Church will be greatly blessed.

##15 As you grow older, you will be able to participate in
receiving the other ordinances as well.

##16 “It is no coincidence that FamilySearch and other tools
have come forth at a time when young people are so familiar with a wide range
of information and communication technologies. . . . The skills and aptitude
evident among many young people today are a preparation to contribute to the
work of salvation. . . . Our young people are excited to learn about the lives
of family members—where they came from and how they lived. Many have had their
hearts turned to the fathers. They love the stories and photos, and they have
the technological expertise to scan and upload these stories and photos to
Family Tree and connect source documents with ancestors to preserve these for
all time.

##17 -- “My beloved young brothers and sisters, family
history is not simply an interesting program or activity sponsored by the
Church; rather, it is a vital part of the work of salvation and exaltation. You
have been prepared for this day and to build up the kingdom of God. You are
here upon the earth now to assist in this glorious work. . . . “I know the
youth of the rising generation have a key role to play in this great endeavor.
. . .” End quote.

As Elder Bednar said, doing family history and temple work
(or, rather, we might say, Temple Worship) affords us promises of not only
being preserved in this world of trials and tribulations, and protection from
the adversary, but also a sweeter, more intimate relationship with God.

In order to receive
these promised blessings and the associated beauties of the ordinances, we need
to ponder the mysteries of Godliness, as revealed in the scriptures, the
temple, and our own sincere prayers. Prayers can be thought of as an
individual, personalized portal piercing this veil of tears and into the
eternal realm where we can commune directly with the Divinity – with our Father
in Heaven.

“Things of God are of deep import; and
time, and experience, and careful and ponderous and solemn thoughts can only
find them out. Thy mind, O man! if thou wilt lead a soul unto salvation, must
stretch as high as the utmost heavens, and search into and contemplate the
darkest abyss, and the broad expanse of eternity -- thou must commune with
God.” (Joseph Smith, Teachings, Page 137)

Joseph Smith said,
“This is good doctrine. It tastes good. I can taste the principles of eternal
life, and so can you. They are given to me by the revelations of Jesus Christ;
and I know that when I tell you these words of eternal life as they are given to
me, you taste them, and I know that you believe them. You say honey is sweet,
and so do I.

“I can also taste the spirit of eternal
life. I know that it is good; and when I tell you of these things which were
given me by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, you are bound to receive them as
sweet, and rejoice more and more. . . . All things whatsoever God in his
infinite wisdom has seen fit and proper to reveal to us…are revealed to us in
the abstract . . . . (Joseph Smith, King Follett Discourse)

And he had this to say about how we grow over time into a
more effective servant: “We consider that God has created man
with a mind capable of instruction, and a faculty which may be enlarged in
proportion to the heed and diligence given to the light communicated from
heaven to the intellect; and that the nearer man approaches perfection, the
clearer are his views, and the greater his enjoyments, . . . But we consider
that this is a station to which no man ever arrived in a moment: he must have
been instructed in the government and laws of that kingdom by proper degrees,
until his mind is capable in some measure of comprehending the propriety,
justice, equality, and consistency of the same.…” (Joseph Smith, Letter to the
Brethren, January 22, 1834. Teachings, Page 47)